Merida hookbill
| Merida hookbill | ||||||||||||
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Merida hookbill ( Diglossa gloriosa ), painted by Joseph Smit |
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| Diglossa gloriosa | ||||||||||||
| PL Sclater & Salvin , 1871 |
The Mérida Flowerpiercer ( Diglossa gloriosa ) is a bird art from the family of tanagers (Thraupidae). This endemic species has a large range that is limited to the South American country of Venezuela . The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern .
features
The merida hookbill reaches a body length of about 12.5 to 13.5 centimeters with a weight of about 11 grams. Most of the plumage is dark black, although this black is not shiny. There is a gray triangular spot on the shoulder. He also has a pale blue-gray browline and rump. It is chestnut-colored from the middle part of the chest over the belly to the lower tail coverts. The gray flanks are difficult to see in the field. Often - but not always - he has reddish-brown speckles on his cheeks, which indicates a certain degree of hybridization with other hooked beaks. There is no pronounced sexual dimorphism in this species .
Immature birds have an olive brown top. They are striped brown on the throat and chest. This color changes to a rusty brown-yellow towards the back of the underside.
distribution and habitat
The birds are found in areas cultivated by humans with bushy hedges, flower-covered gardens, isolated, smaller, crippled forests, and scrub near the tree line and beyond. They prefer the dry and rather open valleys in the plateaus. They are rarely seen in wetter landscapes. Their home is the Andes of Táchira , Mérida and Trujillo at altitudes between 2500 and 4150 meters. To the north you can discover them up to the 3,585 meter high Páramo Cendé on the border with the state of Lara .
behavior
Merida hookbills behave similarly to steel hookbills ( Diglossa lafresnayii ) and black hooked bills ( Diglossa humeralis ). Because of their over-nervous behavior, they can be discovered relatively easily. Usually the birds travel alone or in pairs and work their way from flower to flower, which they pierce one after the other with their beak. In the breeding season, the pairs aggressively defend their territory. Outside the breeding season, they defend their territory alone. They prefer to build their bowl-shaped nests out of grass and moss on embankments.
Cladistics
Together with the black- hooked beak ( Diglossa humeralis ), the black-throated hooked beak ( Diglossa brunneiventris ) and the gray-shouldered hooked beak ( Diglossa carbonaria ) they form a super species .
etymology
The generic name is derived from the Greek dis , di- (= two) and glossa (= tongue) and refers to the typical U-shaped tongue of this genus. The second part of the taxon gloriosa is derived from the Latin word gloriosus for "glorious".
literature
- Jon Fjeldså , Niels Krabbe : Birds of the High Andes: A Manual to the Birds of the Temperate Zone of the Andes and Patagonia, South America , Zoological Museum and Apollo Books, pp. 604f, ISBN 978-8788757163
- Steven L. Hilty , John A. Gwynne, Guy Tudor : Birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0691092508 , p. 784.
- Robert S. Ridgely , Guy Tudor, William Liddle Brown: The Birds of South America. Volume I: The Oscine Passerines. Jays and Swallows, Wrens, Thrushes, and Allies, Vireos and Wood-Warblers, Tanagers, Icterids, and Finches. University of Texas Press, 1989, ISBN 9780292707566 , pp. 203f.
- Philip Lutley Sclater, Osbert Salvin: On Venezuelan Birds collected by Mr. A Goering. By PL Sclater, MA, Ph.D., FRS, and Osbert Salvin, MA, FLS-Part IV. , Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, p. 784, Nov 15, 1870 ( online ) (Even if the year 1870 in the article, the article was only published in April 1871. Therefore, the year 1871 is the first description date.)
Web links
- Internet Bird Collection Merida Flowerpiercer ( Diglossa gloriosa ) (Engl.) Photos
- Avibase Merida hookbill ( Diglossa gloriosa ) pictures and other information
- Image of the original labeling card
Individual evidence
- ^ Diglossa gloriosa in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010.2. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2010.